Do you create executive summaries for your clients' project reports? First, let's define "executive summary." For purposes of this discussion, we're not talking about my business plan in a nutshell as described by Guy Kawasaki in his blog. We're talking about the summary that brings together research findings to answer a question or series of questions.
If you do not include executive summaries in your research reports, why not? Indeed some clients prefer do all the summarizing on their own, but in my experience they represent the exception rather than the rule. As we all face info glut and data smog, most clients value a nicely written snapshot of the situation with the key questions answered up front.
What is it about info pros that makes us ideally suited to creating an information overview or executive summary? Stephen Abram has been heard to say that info pros are skilled at identifying patterns. I'm pretty sure that's one of the skills that helps us summarize mass quantities of information. I think we also have the ability to pull salient points from text heavy sources and distill the points into a few words. Hopefully we write well.
What other skills are required to create a useful research summary? Your comments are encouraged and most welcome.
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